Telcos To Disconnect Bank Customers From Using USSD

Nigerian mobile telecommunications companies consisting of MTN, Glo, Airtel and 9mobile are ready to disconnect bank customers from using the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data services as a result of the N120bn debt owed to the operators.

According to a statement issued by the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria and signed by its Chairman, Gbenga Adebayo, the authorisation to disconnect Deposit Money Banks is because of their refusal to pay the debt owed to operators USSD and it has been approved by the Nigerian Communications Commission.

“Members of the public will recall that MNOs and DMBs have had protracted disagreements concerning the appropriate USSD pricing model for financial transactions, transparency of charges, mode of collection, and liability for payment of the outstanding and continuous service fees due to the MNOs (which currently stand at over N120 billion),” ALTON said in the statement.

The operators under the aegis of the ALTON said that with the NCC’s approval, banks will be disconnected if they fail to pay up.

ALTON further said that efforts of stakeholders, led by the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Pantami, the NCC, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and MNOs and DMBs, to fix this situation and prevent any impact on services were futile.

It added that the DMBs have constantly incurred debt, without efforts to settle previous payments.